Chuck vs Sarah's Journal
by katibabe
Summary: Chuck's Story through Sarah's eyes.
1. Chapter 1

Sep. 24, 2007

7:00 a.m.

Bryce's email lead me to someone named Chuck Bartowski. He works at a Buy More in Burbank. I'm headed there later today.

8:00 a.m.

Bartowski's file: Chuck is 27, a computer technician or "Nerd Herder." He works from 9-5 for 5 days a week. He hasn't been in a long term relationship since 2002. He went to Stanford University until he was ejected for stealing tests. Although, there is no other priors on his record and his psychological profile shows no suggestion of rebelliousness. Note, I speculate Chuck didn't steal those tests, but was ejected for an ulterior reason. There is a significant amount of C.I.A. activity on campus at Stanford. At first glance I doubt he is capable of cheating. It's possible he was getting to close to something there.

Bartowski's file also mentions a sister. Several accounts of sacrifices made on her behalf. Such as working three jobs to help pay for her medical school. Seems Chuck still lives with his sister. Note, possible point of exploitation, family. Although there isn't much about his parents here. Mother left at 10, father left at 19. No current information regarding the parents.

10:00 a.m.

I posed as a customer with a broken phone so I could test him out in person. I gathered very little information from him before he left to go help a little girl and her father record a ballet routine that the father had failed to record at the girl's recital. I determined the best point if entry was to ask him out on a date. Seeing as he was preoccupied I left my card. We'll see if he gets the message.

5:00 p.m.

I observed Chuck for the better part of his shift. Not much to report. Chuck seems quite close to a small, bearded employee named Morgan. They spent most of the day discussing whether or not to call the number I left. Chuck appears to feel inadequate when compared to myself and offers that as the reason why he doesn't plan to call. I might be required to return tomorrow.

I overheard Chuck and his friend discuss attending a movie later this evening. I plan to take advantage of this time and search Chuck's apartment as well as his computer in search of the intersect images. For Chuck's sake, I hope I find them.

6:00 p.m.

Bartowski and his idiotic friend returned earlier than I had anticipated. They saw me with his computer and started throwing things at me. Apparently I am dealing with children. I feel somewhat remorseful. I had no intention of harming Chuck but, in defending myself against the plates and vases being thrown in my direction I may have harmed Bartowski. Unfortunately, the computer was dropped in the process and I was forced to leave before the authorities arrived. I did not discover the intersect images. I'm beginning to doubt that Bryce sent the images to . Bryce would never be so incompetent. Traitor or not. I suppose I will have to return to the Buy More tomorrow and secure a date.

Sep. 25, 2007

10:00 a.m.

Director Graham informed me that the N.S.A. is sending their best agent, John Casey. I have 12 hours to determine if Bartowski has an external drive, or copy of any kind, and to locate it.

10:15 a.m.

I went back to the nerd herd desk. Bartowski was repeating something to himself about losing his mind. Note, possible result of stress caused by the double life I believe him to be living. He asked if I was having phone trouble again and I uttered some cheesy line. He bought it. Note, easily manipulated. I knew, after yesterday, that he wasn't going to call so I told him I was new to town as a way to ask him on a date.

12:00 a.m.

I told Graham about my plan. I also expressed my doubts about Chuck and they were dismissed, of course. My orders are to kill if he runs.

Chuck showed up at my door around 7:00 p.m. with flowers. We went to the restaurant El Compadre. Chuck seems perfectly innocent, which made me all the more suspicious.

No one is innocent.

We later went for a walk and when we stopped on the bridge he paused in an unnatural way. That was another thing I noticed that led me to believe something was off.

We then went to a concert in south Burbank. Agent Casey and his men showed up. I took Chuck out on the dance floor to keep him from noticing that I was taking out Casey's men.

After I took out the men we ran to his car. This led to a car chase with Casey's team. Casey then crashed into us, recklessly endangering Chuck's life I'd like to add. After that mess Chuck and I ran to a roof and waited for the helicopter I called in. After asking Chuck about Bryce he informed me that he had seen the intersect pictures and did not have an external drive. Casey then found us before The helicopter could arrive and I was forced to point my gun at Chuck to keep Casey from shooting me and taking Chuck. Chuck then paused again like he had on the bridge and told Casey and I that General Stanfield's life was in danger and that there was a bomb. That's when I realized that the information for the intersect pictures was in his head.

Chuck, Casey, and I drove to the hotel where General Stanfield was speaking. After finding the bomb Chuck, of all people, disarmed it with a computer virus.

5:00 a.m.

Casey and I discussed what the next step with Chuck would be and concluded that, until the new intersect was up and running, we would have Chuck us the information in his head to work with us.

I found Chuck on the beach later and told him to our plan and that he needed to trust me.


	2. Chapter 2

Journal Entry #2

Oct. 1, 2007

Yesterday Director Graham informed me that a tactical record was no longer a priority. Normally I would discontinue my logs but, Graham suggests that I continue to write as a therapeutic measure. He believes that Bryce's betrayal might cause me stress in the field and said that he would be more "comfortable" if I tried "journaling". I'm not quite sure what the difference is between a journal and a tactical log but, I promised I would, at the very least, try. I am unfamiliar with personal diaries so I suppose I will just recount my day and my thoughts.

9:00 a.m.

Chuck calmed Agent Casey down this morning. Casey was seconds away from taking some shoplifter down. Note, Chuck can talk someone down in a heated situation. It's possible his talent might come in handy. Also note, Casey almost blew his cover by attacking that shoplifter.

I start my new cover job at the wienerlicious today. The required uniform is, unfortunately, a skanky German broad costume and pigtails. I want it on record that I would prefer to be stationed in the buymore with Chuck, for the tactical advantage, or even a yogurt shop.

Chuck came in the shop today and I informed him that Casey and I had formed a plan to retract the intersect images from his head, using a man named Dr. Zarno. Chuck seemed to be relieved that the secrets would soon be out of his head. We are meeting at the Buy More later tonight so Zarno can determine whether the image extraction would be safe.

9:00 p.m.

Zarnow's tests were successful. The information extraction is a go.

10:00 p.m.

I drove Chuck home after the test and he asked if our dating cover would be over if the test were successful, I said yes. He seemed disappointed. I'm glad that this will be over soon, I would hate for him to blur the lines between cover and reality when it comes to our relationship.

Oct. 2, 2007

7:00 a.m.

Zarno's car was destroyed in an explosion last night. I found a mangled NSA incinerator next to the remains of the car. I suspect Casey was somehow involved. I need to get Chuck alone to inform him. We will both have to keep a close EYE on until we figure this out.

10:00 a.m.

After I informed Chuck, Casey bursted into the shop causing me of killing Zarno. I suspect as a way to throw me off of his trail. After a heated exchange he attacked. I had him cornered until some idiot kids distracted me. He got away. I have dinner with the Bartowski's tonight, hopefully Casey will stay away from Chuck.

6:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.

Well dinner was a bust. Chuck showed up suspicious of me. Casey had put it in his head that I killed Zarno. I can't believe Chuck believed him! Casey showed up to dinner too. Chuck started acting nervous. I would've thought it was cut if I hadn't know it was because he thought I was a killer. Chuck then set fire to my suflé. After putting out the fire in the bathtub I asked to be alone with him. He explained that he was acting all crazy because not only did he believe I killed Zarno but also that I had killed a circle of French diplomats. I then explained that they weren't diplomats, they were assassins. That seemed to calm him down.

Once I determined that Casey hadn't killed Zarno I realized that Zarno wasn't dead. I ran outside to get in my car and find him when Zarno tranqued me. In hindsight I should have told Casey where I was going and bring him along.

I woke up in a warehouse with my hands chained to a bar above my head. This isn't the first time I've been captured but I didn't have my shoes on with the knifes in the heels so I had nothing to pick the lock. I won't go into the details of the torture I experienced. I don't feel like reliving it. Zarno wanted to know who the intersect was since we kept his identity a secret during testing.

Chuck, of all people, was the one who ended up saving my life. According to Casey, he was the one who located me. He also helped me find something to get me out of my chains when Zarno wasn't looking. Zarno came back, though. Zarni tranqued Chuck after discovering he was the intersect. Zarno had Chuck on a chopper before I escaped. Casey found me as the others took off. I'll admit I was disappointed, not just because my asset was captured but, because Chuck seemed like such a genuine person, unlike anyone I had ever met, I couldn't bare the thought of him being tortured and sold to the highest bidder.

Something happened though, in the helicopter. Chuck somehow got control of the helicopter. That's when I started to panic. Of course, I didn't let that show, I was the one who had to talk Chuck through the controls. Eventually Chuck landed the helicopter and we apprehended Zarno. As relieved as I was I lashed out at Chuck. I know it wasn't his fault that he had to fly a helicopter, but I was scared. For one of the few times in my C.I.A. career, I was scared. And not because a gun was pointed to my head, not because I was about to die, because Chuck was in danger. The thought that someone who means so much to so many people could have died _scared_ me. That's not something I like to admit, but I had no control over it. I can't let emotion affect me like that.

Oct. 3, 2007

7:00 a.m.

This morning I went to Bryce's funeral. I hid in the back so no one would see me, Chuck did though. It was weird seeing him and Bryce in the same place. The two different pieces of my life thrown together. I had forgotten that Chuck even knew Bryce.

Despite my pact to fight emotion, I let myself cry. I loved Bryce. I would never admit it but, I don't know what I am going to do without him. I guess I'll just have to focus on Chuck and the intersect until I recover.

9:00 a.m.

Chuck came into the shop today. He asked me if I was doing okay with Bryce's funeral being today. I told him that I had to go. Afterwords I realized I had sounded a little cold. I didn't mean to. He was just trying to be nice, I don't know why I responded the way I did. At the same time though, Chuck doesn't need to know about the details of my relationship with Bryce.

He also apologized for not trusting me yesterday. I apologized for yelling at him. I immediately felt better, especially when his family came in to eat. I may not be a good cook but, I did enjoy the company.


	3. Chapter 3

Entry # 3

October 8, 2007

9:30 a.m.

I went to visit Chuck at the Buy More so Casey and I could debrief him on a current string of high level murders. Beckman and Graham wanted us to determine if the intersect had any information on the homicides.

To help secure our cover I asked Chuck to kiss me. He barely pecked me on the cheek.

Note, Chuck doesn't like P.D.A. We'll have to work on that.

After that, in the home-theater room, Casey and I were debriefing Chuck. Chuck thought the victims in the crime scene photos were sleeping. Sometimes I forget just how different our lives are. Chuck flashed on a newspaper and saw a painting, an auction, and the name La Ciudad. That's when we knew these murders were far more important than we had originally interpreted. La Ciudad is wanted by almost every foreign government agency and has been on the FBI watch-list for several years. No one has ever captured a photo of him or quite possibly, as I suspect, her because "La" is feminine in its Latin root.

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Today is slow at the wienerlicious. There are only so many ways to stack straws. I've ended up spending the majority of my shift analyzing Chuck's actions this morning. He seemed hesitant to enable our cover. I suspect he might not find me attractive. His romantic history strictly involves brunettes… Chuck Also seemed reluctant to help us with La Ciudad, which is odd since we aren't asking him to join on our missions but to analyze, I would think he'd be happy to be an analyst. He seems like the type. I suspect it's because we have "thrown him into the deep end" in a sense. Maybe some basic training will help him ease into the spy life. Also, concerning PDA, I'll have to do little things like hold his hand or play with his tie to make up for lost ground, just to be safe.

6:30 p.m.

Casey's is stationed in the apartment next to Chuck's. I met him there for our previously scheduled debriefing on La Ciudad. The meeting was pretty standard. Beckmen informed us that La Ciudad is, in fact, an notorious arms dealer with a heck of a record. Anyone who has gotten close enough to see him/her hasn't lived to tell about it. With the auction it was the perfect setup to capture La Ciudad. At least, it was until Beckmen suggested Chuck join to see if he'd flash on anything. I was adamantly against it. Granted everything we know about La Ciudad is in the intersect but Chuck has no field experience or training. Of course my sentiments were immediately dismissed and the meeting was concluded. Casey believes because it's "just an art auction" that Chuck will be fine. I think he's forgotten the part where La Ciudad Kills anyone who recognizes him/her.

October 9, 2007

12:00 p.m.

I asked Chuck to come eat lunch with me so I could talk to him about tonight. When I told him he needed a cover he said Charles Carmichael, a billionaire Software designer retiree/sailor, Chuck's very imaginative. I'll give him that.

Apparently Charles Carmichael is where Chuck planned to be by now. When I asked him what happened he told me about Bryce and Stanford, I already knew about the incident with Bryce but I didn't want Chuck to find out that I know his entire history. I feel that by having him tell me about himself will help build a trust between us, which is crucial if this partnership is to work. Something that wasn't in his file, that he shared with me, was that he didn't steal the tests. My initial suspicion s were correct I suppose. Granted he could be lying but I'm choosing to believe him.

He subtly informed me that the intersect is keeping him in a state of fear, danger, and anxiety. I took his hand and told him not to be nervous. He told me he wasn't, but based on his sweaty palm I knew he was lying.

6:30 p.m.

I taped into the surveillance Casey planted in Chuck's apartment at the weirdest time. Chuck was dancing with a half-naked "Captain Awesome" as Chuck once called him. Despite it being very, very disturbing, I found myself laughing. I also found myself wondering why Chuck was dancing as the female side of the tango.

8:00 p.m.

I gave Chuck a GPS watch just before we entered the auction. I also found out the reason Chuck was Tango-ing with Captain Awesome was because Casey had pulled a little "spy humor", as Chuck called it, and told him he needed to know how to tango for the mission.

Chuck spilled something on his shirt before we even reached the door, only further proving my point that Chuck is not fit for this kind of mission.

After Chuck cleaned up he told me he saw La Ciudad In the bathroom. I guess my hunch about him being a woman was wrong.

As soon as the target was identified I sent Chuck to the bar and went to La Ciudad. While I would much rather point a gun at his back and lead him outside, I didn't want to endanger the surrounding civilians by risking a gun fight.. Instead I decided to flirt with La Ciudad and lure him outside of the auction then arrest him there. I'm not a big fan of the seduction route. It undermines my skills, I feel like.

Anyway La Ciudad saw right through my flirtation and pointed a gun at my back. He lead me to the roof. He punched me, I punched him, blah, blah, blah, I got the drop on him. Turns out, he's not La Ciudad but the MI-6 agents tracking him. The whole auction was a sting. The painting Chuck had flashed on had originally had plutonium in the frame. The MI-6 agents removed the plutonium and keep the auction to lure La Ciudad. It was pretty ingenious but, we screwed it up. Man I hate the lack of communication between National Agencies.

We got back to the auction and Chuck was missing. I located his watch and we found him seconds before he would've been killed. Again, further proving that Chuck should not be on missions with us. Especially since our main priority is to protect the asset. Also I was right, La Ciudad is a girl. So… ten points for me. I guess.

October 10, 2007

10:00 a.m.

Walking to the Buy More this morning I saw a delivery girl with a long scar on her neck walking to the wienerlicious. Based off of Chuck's description, she looked like La Ciudad. Judging by the length of the box she was carrying I concluded the box held a sniper. She was headed to the wienerlicious roof likely to try and take Chuck out. I called it in and headed to the roof as well. Again, punches were thrown, she got in a lucky kick but I eventually knocked her out with my handcuffs and arrested her.

8:00 p.m.

I stopped by Chuck for a cover date. Ellie made dinner. Chuck noticed the cut I had on my lip from La Ciudad's kick today and asked if I was okay. I don't know why… I just thought it was a nice gesture to ask, it felt good to have someone looking out for me I guess. After dinner Chuck and I were holding hands and even after we were out of sight of Ellie he lingered. I hope this kid doesn't develop feelings for me. It makes it so much harder to burn him as an asset if he does. It will already be hard as is. Chuck is perfectly innocent and I would hate to have to put him in a bunker, or worse. Also, along the lines of Chuck's feelings for me he mentioned that if our relationship were real than he would be forced to kiss me. I don't know why I said it but I asked if it would really be so bad. He responded with, "I'm sure I could suffer through it." And it just slipped. I said "Me, too." Ugh. I can't lead him on like that. I'll have to be even more cautious in keeping my own, as well as Chuck's, emotions in check.


End file.
